Arminia Bielefeld secured promotion to the Bundesliga next season after rivals Hamburg SV stumbled to a 1-1 draw against VfL Osnabrueck on Tuesday.

Arminia Bielefeld are back in the Bundesliga. Martin Rose/Getty Images

The result guaranteed Bielefeld a top-two finish with three games left to play.

Bielefeld, who last played in the Bundesliga in 2009, are now on 61 points from 31 games after beating Dynamo Dresden 4-0 on Monday. They are seven clear of Hamburg SV, who have played 32 matches.

Former Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart are third on 52 also with three games left to play.

The top two clubs win automatic promotion while the third-placed team goes into a relegation/promotion playoff with the club that finished third from bottom in the Bundesliga.

Source – ESPN

Two of Brazil’s top clubs, Botafogo and Fluminense, say they will defy an order to resume competitive play this week as the country’s daily coronavirus death toll hovers around 1,000.

Botafogo signed Japan international Keisuke Honda in March

The Rio de Janeiro state football federation proposed the state championship, one of several tournaments that take place before the national leagues begin, restart on June 18 pending state government approval.

Botafogo president Nelson Mufarrej called the ruling “disconnected from reality”, and both clubs said they planned to take legal action on health and safety grounds.

“Unfortunately, the majority of clubs understand that this is the time to play games again, in spite of the chaotic scenes were living through right now,” Mufarrej said in a statement. “We’re against it.”

Rio’s Maracana stadium was lit blue on its 70th birthday on Tuesday in honour of health workers

Botafogo later said they would begin training for a possible restart in July.

Director Carlos Montenegro told Radio Transamerica the earliest they would agree to play their two outstanding games was on July 1 and 4.

Sports web site Globoesporte.com quoted the club as saying five players had tested positive for COVID-19 and they would train separately from the rest of the squad.

A man wearing a Fluminense face mask prepares eggs for sale after street markets were reopened in Rio de Janeiro

City rival Fluminense’s chairman Mario Bittencourt said his players, inactive since action was halted in mid-March, were not ready for a competitive return.

The club have fixtures scheduled on June 22 and June 24.

“The dates set for our games are unacceptable from the point of view of the health of our players and we won’t be taking the field, and we will look to take action in the sporting court to do what is right,” Bittencourt said.

Brazil’s documented deaths from the pandemic stand at just below 44,000 and that toll has been rising by around 1,000 per day for the past week.

Source – Sky Sports

The English side have been linked with the 17-year-old attacker in recent weeks but he proved his incredible worth to the Blaugrana against Leganes.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that Manchester United are considering making an offer for Ansu Fati.

However, while Barcelona have become synonymous with strange moves in the transfer market, even the cash-strapped Catalans wouldn’t consider selling the 17-year-old sensation.

“We won’t use players from the academy to make money,” club director Xavier Viljoana told Sport. “In principle, we have no intention of selling the players we believe will make the first team.

“I think he’s happy here and he will be an important player in the coming years.”

Forget the coming years, though – Fati will be an important player in the coming weeks.

When the Bissau-born Spain Under-21 international became the youngest player to score twice in La Liga back in February, Barca boss Quique Setien said: “He has provided us with solutions.”

Fati certainly solved a problem for the Catalans in Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Leganes.

Barca were dire for the majority of the first half at Camp Nou. Indeed, they were lucky to not be trailing to La Liga’s basement boys, who could have scored twice in the opening 10 minutes.

Miguel Angel Guerrero saw one shot brilliantly cleared off the line by the scrambling Clement Lenglet and then struck the outside of the post with another.

Whether it was the absence of fans or the late kick-off, Barca appeared to be asleep and it took Fati to rouse them from their slumber, with the teenager netting in the 42nd minute with what was the hosts’ first shot on target.

Before then, Antoine Griezmann had had Barca’s one and only sight of goal with a header from an Ivan Rakitic cross that sailed wide.

It was another one of those evenings for Griezmann, who, just as he had in last weekend’s win at Mallorca, looked lost in the centre-forward role in a three-man attack.

Once again, it wasn’t for the want of trying and Griezmann was desperately unfortunate to see a goal disallowed midway through the second half when Nelson Semedo was deemed to have been offside.

However, another blank will only increase the pressure on the €120 million (£107m/$135m) signing, particularly as Luis Suarez is fit again, Martin Braithwaite got off the mark against Mallorca and Fati left his mark here.

Fati, of course, is being carefully managed by Setien, who withdrew the youngster after 52 minutes as a precautionary measure because of his recent minor injury issues. His talent was once again there for all to see, though.

As well as opening the scoring with a sweet right-footed strike from the edge of the area, he also provoked panic in the Leganes defence with his pace and dribbling skills.

Lionel Messi, of course, remains the master in that regard. During the first half, Leganes resorted to rugby tackles to stop the Argentine in his tracks.

However, such an approach was always going to prove costly and Messi won a penalty – which he converted himself – after a scintillating run into the area during which he fended off one attempted foul after another before eventually being felled by a combination of Ruben Perez and Jonathan Silva.

For Barcelona, Messi is priceless. He will be the key to their hopes of maintaining top spot in La Liga – they now sit five points clear of Real Madrid, who play Valencia on Thursday.

However, Fati could prove a valuable game-changer during the title run-in. He is fast and he is clinical, with his five Liga goals this season having come from just 10 shots on target (and 18 in total).

“What Ansu is doing is impressive,” midfielder Rakitic enthused after the win over Leganes. “We’re very happy with him.”

There really is no point in United or anyone else even submitting a bid at this stage. Fati is one of Barcelona’s ‘Untouchables’. On Tuesday night, he once again showed why.

Source – Goal.com

Fans on big screens and specific cameras to celebrate towards are some of the “broadcast enhancements” that will be used when the Premier League season restarts this week.

AGF Aarhus installed a ‘virtual grandstand’ for their fans when the Danish Superliga returned in May

A number of innovations, including tunnel cameras and audio from the coin toss, have been developed.

Some viewers will also be given the option of listening to games with or without artificial crowd noise.

Players will not hear the audio effects in the behind-closed-doors games.

The seats nearest the pitch will also have covers designed by each club “to improve the environment both visually and acoustically”.

As part of the plans, the Premier League has said live video feeds featuring 16 supporters from each club will be made available to broadcasters and to clubs for use on big screens during matches.

Some grounds, including Anfield, do not have giant screens and it is understood there are no plans to install a temporary one at the home of the Premier League leaders.

Spain’s World Cup-winning captain Iker Casillas has withdrawn his application for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation.

Iker Casillas has been a part of Porto’s coaching staff during his recovery from a heart attack

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper said he was reconsidering his candidacy because of the “exceptional social, economic and health situation that our country is suffering”.

More than 27,000 people with Covid-19 have died in Spain since the outbreak.

“This makes the elections take a back seat,” the 39-year-old said on Twitter.

Casillas has not yet officially retired but he has not played for current club Porto since April 2019, after he had a heart attack during training.

He was given a role on the club’s coaching staff in July 2019.

Casillas’ withdrawal means incumbent Luis Rubiales is set to be re-elected unopposed in August with a four-year mandate.

Source – BBC News

The story may sound a little far-fetched, but the ex-midfielder’s old team-mates are convinced that a close encounter was behind his tardiness.

Photo by Getty Images

Over the years footballers have used countless excuses to explain away late showings at training sessions – but Guillermo Marino’s claim that his soul was removed by extra-terrestrials on the way to practice surely sets a new benchmark for players everywhere.

Marino came through the ranks at Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario and also enjoyed two brief spells at Boca Juniors, but the ex-midfielder’s most successful spell came in Chile.

As a member of Jorge Sampaoli’s Universidad de Chile side at the start of the last decade he lifted three Primera Division titles as well as the 2011 Copa Sudamericana title, starring along the likes of current Leverkusen star Charles Aranguiz, Chile international striker Eduardo Vargas and fellow Roja stalwarts Marcelo Diaz and Eugenio Mena, now at Argentina‘s Racing Club.

The player’s spell in Santiago, however, was not without incident, with ex-team-mate Gustavo Lorenzetti explaining that a close encounter with little green men once held him up for one of Sampaoli’s sessions.

“Guillermo says that he arrived late to one training because he was abducted by aliens,” Lorenzetti revealed to Lado B.

“He gave us the entire explanation of what he felt and the rest of it.

“There are cases where the player says: ‘I left and I came back two days later because I was kidnapped by aliens’. But Guille is not that kind of player. Guille was a very proper guy. Everyone knows him.”

Marino continued to give a graphic account of his abduction, leaving his team-mates in no doubt that he was telling the truth.

“He started to explain that he was suddenly lost and abducted by aliens,” Lorenzetti continued.

“He explained that they take out your soul, analyse it and all the while on the journey they are looking after you. He said something like that.

“Honestly I believe in aliens. He gave a great explanation and we’ll have to believe him. So other types of channels will have to call him so he can tell it better. But in any case: he was abducted by aliens.

“I don’t know if Guille would have told [Sampaoli] the same story, honestly. They must have had a chat afterwards. But knowing Guille, I think he must have believed him. What can you say? This is worthy of the Discovery Channel or something.”

Source – Goal.com

The Red Devils legend recalls being in awe of the Brazilian ahead of their Champions League quarter-final showdown.

Photo by Getty Images

Andy Cole has admitted that he was left so starstruck lining up next to Ronaldo in the tunnel before Manchester United‘s clash with Inter in 1999 that he almost wet himself.

Cole enjoyed a hugely successful spell at Old Trafford between 1995 and 2001, scoring 121 goals in 275 appearances while also getting his hands on nine major trophies.

The ex-England international helped United win the treble in 1998-99, as Sir Alex Ferguson’s side dominated the domestic scene while also storming to success in the Champions League.

United came up against Inter en route to the final of Europe’s elite competition, and beat the Italians 2-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg of their quarter-final tie before heading to San Siro for the reverse fixture.

Brazilian legend Ronaldo returned to Inter’s starting line-up after missing the first leg to set up a battle of two of the world’s top strikers at the time against Cole.

The Red Devils great says it was a “surreal” experience for him to come face to face with the Ballon d’Or winner, so much so that he was nearly overcome with nerves before the match kicked off.

Cole told the Beautiful Game Podcast: “I remember when we played Inter Milan that same season and I lined up in the tunnel and I saw Ronaldo. I’m not gonna lie, I nearly wet myself!

“This is the guy I’ve watched for years. I’m talking about a baller, a straight baller. He had everything in the locker and I’m standing in the tunnel at the San Siro and I’m saying: ‘This is sick!’, but when you’re at that level and you think, ‘Man, I’m actually at this level with these guys. I’m on the same pitch as these guys, I’m on that level’, it’s surreal.

“I’m always honest and I’m always open when it comes to things like this. Playing against these kinds of guys.

“It’s something that when I do take the opportunity to look back, I say to my boys: ‘I’ve done alright. I’ve half made it!’.”

Cole went on the express his belief that injuries prevented Ronaldo from sweeping all the individual awards year in year out at the height of his career, with today’s generation more taken with the exploits of his Portuguese namesake at Juventus.

“If you speak to a lot of the kids now and you speak about Brazilian Ronaldo, they look at you like you’ve got three heads because they don’t know who he is,” he added. “If we take away his injuries, he could have gone on to win Ballon d’Or after Ballon d’Or and scored a zillion goals. He was a baller! He was an absolute baller.

“Of course, we’re gonna talk about Cristiano Ronaldo on that level as R9 because that’s what we see now, that’s what the kids see now – but if you take away that injury, he was sick, a proper baller.”

Source – Goal.com

Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says the decision whether to sign a new deal with Arsenal is “possibly the most important” of his career.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (right) featured for Arsenal in their friendly against Brentford before the season restart

The 30-year-old Gabon international’s current contract runs out in June 2021.

“I haven’t had an offer recently, but I did speak to the club quite a few months ago, and they know why nothing has happened yet,” Aubameyang told French football programme Telefoot.

“It’s a turning point in my career and I want to be honest with everyone.”

He added: “They [Arsenal] have the keys. It is up to them to do their work and, after that, we will see how things go. It’ll certainly be a very difficult decision to make.”

Aubameyang has scored 61 goals in 97 appearances for the Gunners since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2018.

In March, prior to the league’s suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he wants to keep him “under any circumstances” and the club need to discuss a new deal with their captain before the end of the season.

Barcelona and Inter Milan are understood to be interested in the forward.

Arsenal, who sit ninth in the table, travel to second-placed Manchester City when the Premier League restarts on Wednesday.

Source – BBC News

Eden Hazard is fine after suffering an injury “scare” during Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Eibar on Sunday, says Zinedine Zidane.

Eden Hazard suffered an injury ‘scare’ during Real Madrid’s victory over Eibar

Hazard assisted captain Sergio Ramos to make it 2-0 before being replaced on 61 minutes, and was seen with an ice pack on the ankle he fractured during Real’s defeat to Levante to February.

The Belgium international had surgery in the United States in March and looked set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines, but the suspension of football due to the coronavirus pandemic has given him time to recover.

Hazard assisted Sergio Ramos for Real’s second goal against Eibar

“We knew Hazard would probably lack a little sharpness if he played the whole game,” Real boss Zidane said. “He played for an hour, and played well, and he took a hit, which will do him good.

“He’s had a knock, a scare, but that’s football. He was fine at half-time, he was happy and he’s not afraid. He is happy with what he’s done and we’re happy with his work and that of the whole team.

“We have players up top who can always make the difference. I think when Hazard laid it to Sergio, he could have scored himself too, but he’s altruistic, so he gave it to Sergio. It’s unselfish and I love to see things like that.”

Source – Sky Sports